The 49ers are where the Raiders were three years ago – drastically undermanned, in the midst of unrelenting losing, and with Fort Knox-like money under the salary cap. Obviously, the 10-2 Raiders have made the right moves in hiring coach Jack Del Rio, drafting players like Derek Carr and Amari Cooper, and acquiring players like …

Jim Harbaugh got the mantra from his former coach at Michigan, Bo Schembechler, whose “The Team” speech is part of the program’s lore.
In 1983, Schembechler addressed the Wolverines and said, in part, “No man is more important than the team. No coach i… …

(10-20) 22:03 PDT — Being wrong has never been more enjoyable.
Alex Smith in 2011 has been the kind of quarterback that I stopped believing he could be two years ago.
He has been everything Mike Singletary wanted him to be but couldn’t make him.
He h… …

— Midweek thoughts on the NFL:
— Alex Smith was really pretty awful for most of the Detroit game, but when Jim Harbaugh yelled “Clutch!” to his players during an emotional postgame speech, Smith had good reason to smile. And the league’s most remark… …

— Some heartburning questions about Bay Area big-boy football …
— If the 49ers and Raiders play in the next Super Bowl, who will be favored? No qualifiers allowed, like, “Depends on how Carson Palmer blah-blah-blah.” Pick one.
Edge to Raiders. Mor… …

The 49ers’ transformation from joke to early season juggernaut isn’t unprecedented.

Since 1990, nine other teams have jumped out to a 5-1 or better start after beginning the previous season with a 1-5 or worse record. This year’s Lions are included among that group. Detroit (5-1) and San Francisco (5-1) both began 1-5 in 2010.

Politeness is poisoning sport. Jim Harbaugh is the antidote.
Still, a man can get carried away, and in the wake of the Steel Cage Handshake, also known as the Schmodown in Motown, the judgment here is that Harbaugh went too far when he broke out the jo… …

One day later, in keeping with NFL custom, the 49ers reflected. They relished their spirited pass rush Sunday in Detroit, savored their game-winning touchdown, bemoaned their barrage of penalties – and vowed (sort of) to work on the postgame handshake…. …

It’s one thing for the 49ers to reach the bye week at 5-1. It’s another thing entirely when you consider they’re unbeaten in three road games.
They won all three in the Eastern time zone, a longtime nemesis, and they won all three after trailing – incl… …

Coach Jim Harbaugh has been remarkably effective at leading the San Francisco 49ers to victory. Now he just needs to learn how to graciously lead the way to the locker room after a big win.
Harbaugh’s exuberance after the 49ers’ 25-19 upset of the unde… …